Our Japanese counterparts have launched their own Balsa Man Japan website! Their regional burn will be happening on August 29th at 5pm. The location will be announced one week prior to the event on the 22nd.

Tiny artists and DTW volunteers are asked to show up early for set up. The Balsa Man Japan burns at sunset with other tiny art burning shortly thereafter—balsa burns in a blink of an eye so be on time! Clean up will begin after all tiny art is burned (around 8pm). Balsa Man is a Leave No Trace event so please help the DTW with their clean up efforts.

More information can be found on the Balsa Man Japan Survival Guide.

Participate!

There are several ways to participate to make Balsa Man Japan the grandest tiny spectacle ever:

• Create tiny art! Tiny artists should check out the Balsa Man Japan miniature art reference guide.
• Join the DTW (Dept. of Tiny Works). Help set up the tiny village of Balsa Man Japan!
• Help build the Balsa Man for Japan!

For more information on how you can participate contact gro.namaslabnull@napajaslab

You can stay abreast of all the Balsa Man Japan updates by following their twitter @balsamanJPN or RSVP to the Facebook Event

Balsa Man is having it’s first East Coast Regional in Philadelphia! The city of brotherly love will have it’s very own Philly Balsa Man Regional Burn on Sept 4th!

Leading the charge as the Philadelphia Regional Lead is the excellent Andrzej “Yeti” Bejnar. Who like the other two Regional Leads is also an experienced desert camper—what is it with these desert campers? That’s three in a row now!?!

Where & When

Philadelphia Balsa Man will be on Saturday, 4 September 2010. RSVP to the Facebook Event Page.

Tiny artists and other participants should arrive by 6pm. If you arrive too late you will miss seeing all the tiny art. The location will be along the Riverfront with exact details to be announced.

The main Philly Balsa Sculpture will burn shortly after sunset. Balsa burns fast so arrive on time!

Participate & Make Tiny Art!

Philadelphia Balsa Man is a participatory event and we encourage you to get involved. For more information on how you can participate please contact Andrzej at gro.namaslabnull@yllihpaslab.

Also, Andrzej will be hosting a Balsa Man Philly Regional gathering and Tiny Art Build Party on August the 6th from 6pm till 2am or later @ BookSpace at 1113 Frankford Ave. Philadelphia Pa 19125. Some art materials will be on hand for people to make tiny art, but artists are encouraged to bring their own supplies too. BookSpace is actually a great place for people to come down anytime and make tiny art!

August 6th is also the First Friday (of the month) open gallery night on the Frankford Ave Art Coorridor so it’s a good opportunity for people to meet and collaborate on making tiny art for Philly Balsa Man as well as meet for other art projects.

Andrzej "Yeti" Bejnar

Other build events are also being planned at coffee shops like Higher Grounds Cafe (Psst, hey Andrzej I hear coffee stirrers make great art materials!) and other local art centers.

It sounds like there is already a horde of minuscule excitement brewing in Philadelphia, to Yeti tell it:

“There is a large community of [Black Rock Desert campers] in these parts from many walks of life and art. Tiny art, tiny hoolahooping, tiny poi, tiny nurners, tiny tiny. Its all tiny-good and will be all tiny(ish)! We are really psyched.”

Andrzej promises more information over the next coming week. We will post that information here as we receive it but the best place to follow is the Philly Balsa Man Regional Facebook event page.

If you’d like to get involved, please contact Andrzej “Yeti” Bejnar at gro.namaslabnull@yllihpaslab or find him on facebook.

Balsa Blighty
Tiny Art in the Big Smoke

Saturday, 4 September 2010

Balsa Blighty is the first transatlantic Balsa Man regional in London, England. Lead by Miss Cheeky, Balsa Blightly aims to bring tiny art to the Big Smoke—giving Balsa Man a bit of British flavour!

All tiny artists in the tiny town of London are invited to join Balsa Blighty and show off their tiny art in a big way. Tiny art enthusiasts are welcome too.

Where & When

Balsa Blighty will be on Saturday, 4 September 2010.

Tiny artists and other participants should arrive by 6pm. If you arrive too late you will miss seeing all the tiny art and might only be faced with ashes.

The sunset is at 7.40pm and the main Balsa Blighty sculpture will burn shortly after the sun can no longer be seen. All other tiny art will burn after the main Balsa Blighty burn. Tiny art should only be burned by those that created it.

Location to be announced at a later date. Follow the facebook event page or the @balsablighty twitter stream for more announcements.

WANTED: Tiny Art for Basla Blighty!

Are you a tiny artist?
Do you love tiny art?
Do you find your artistic dreams are not being met on a small enough scale?
Do you think big things in small size?

Balsa Blighty encourages tiny artists of all sizes to make tiny art. Please contact gro.namaslabnull@ythgilbaslab if you are planning to bring tiny art or if you would like more information.

Tiny art should be, well tiny, and at least close to 1/16th scale. Tiny art should not dwarf the main Balsa Blighty sculpture. Your burn should be as tiny as your art – there should be no bonfires.

Participate!

Balsa Blighty is a participatory event and we encourage you to get involved. For more information on how you can participate please
contact gro.namaslabnull@ythgilbaslab

Leave No Trace

Balsa Blighty is a leave no trace event. Please ensure that the ashes of your tiny burn are cleared up as well as anything you may have brought with you. As it will be dark during this time we encourage you to bring a torch or a headlamp with you. Please also bring a bin liner or carrier bag for your rubbish.

Friendly Notices

Balsa Blighty is a BYOB event. We encourage you to bring with you whatever you might want to drink whilst you enjoy the tiny art. And since we all know sharing is caring, we encourage you to bring some to share with others.

Please do not play Godzilla amongst the tiny art. Be mindful where you are stepping.

To stay abreast of the event, follow the facebook event page or the @balsablighty twitter stream.

This year is the year that the tiny spirit of Balsa Man goes global with regionals happening around this small blue marble called Earth!

Tokyo Balsa Regional

Leading the effort to bring a small bit of joy across the Pacific pond is the amazing Makibee, a Freelance art-loving ex-mountain guide who just gave birth to 2nd generation Black Rock Desert camper! Makibee also runs #BURNINJA, a community of people in Japan who love camping in the Black Rock Desert… why they would come all the way to the United States to camp in a dry, dusty and dull desert I have no idea. No matter what their camping habits are, I can’t say how thrilled we all are at the Balsa Man headquarters that Makibee is heading up the Tokyo Balsa Regional! Japan very well seems to be full of people who have mastered the art of tiny and cute 10 times over, so I can’t wait to see the minuscule masterpieces that are sure to be born at their Balsa Burn.

More information about the Tokyo Balsa Regional will be forthcoming. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer or make tiny art for the regional you can contact Makibee at gro.namaslabnull@napajaslab

London Balsa Regional

Across the Atlantic Pond we have the marvelous Miss Cheeky, a veteran Black Rock Desert camper herself… what is it about Balsa Man that attracts all these desert campers? Anyways, besides being a person who likes to camp where it’s dry she is an avid Roller Derby girl with the London Rollergirls and crafter of adorable yet slightly creepy dolls—correction, Miss Cheeky is a specialist and only crafts doll faces. With her creative crafting skills I know she”ll be able to make a pint-sized wonder of an Balsa event! And with her roller derby moxie, she’s more than tough enough to handle any can kick all the riffraff out no matter how big they are.

More information about the London Balsa Regional will be forthcoming. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer or make tiny art for the regional you can contact Makibee at gro.namaslabnull@nodnolaslab

Also more regionals are in the works in other parts of the United States so stay tuned to the Balsa Blog! If you would like to host your own Balsa Regional please contact our Regional Director at gro.namaslabnull@slanoiger

This year’s Balsa Man is all about focusing on the community that is forged around tiny art. In so doing, we are pushing hard to promote the Balsa Regionals (like the Paul Balsa Bunyan Man in MN) that have begun to sprung up in other areas of the country. Last year, literally dozens of desert campers were thrilled by the Black Rock Desert Balsa Regional. This NV regional was lead by the talented Kristen Ankiewicz who expressed how overjoyed the participants were to have something to do for the hour or so that it lasted, in the otherwise empty and dull Black Rock Desert.

This year Kristen is stepping down as regional lead and we are looking to for some fabulous person to lead this year’s Black Rock Balsa Regional!

Balsa Regional Lead Responsibilities

• Build the central Balsa sculpture for the regional (does not have to be anything like the Balsa Man; last year’s was a large Balsa Head made out of matches.)
• Encourage other desert campers to make their own Tiny Art and participant  at the event.
• Optionally host a tiny art build party for tiny artists making tiny art for the regional.
• Secure an area for the regional and manage tiny art placement prior to the burn.
• Run the Balsa Burn itself—remember it’s a tiny burn so it shouldn’t last more than an hour or so.

Balsa Regional Lead Perks

• A tiny art grant from BPAF to be used for materials expenses for building the central figure of the Balsa Regional.
• A Balsa Man 2010 patch to wear with pride.
• A pack of Balsa Man stickers to give to volunteers and participants who create tiny art for the Balsa Regional.
• Tiny sense of satisfaction

Starting Your Own Balsa Regional

Of course, Balsa Man Org. encourages tiny art enthusiasts to start their own Balsa Regional no matter where they live! If you are interested in leading a regional in another part of the country or the world we’d love to hear from you! Please contact our regional organizer at gro.namaslabnull@slanoiger.

Don't Fuck with Paul Balsa Bunyan by Rubin Starset

Sunday marked the first annual Tiny Shanty’s Tiny Fire Arts Festival! It was the first Balsa Regional of 2010 and the first ever Midwest Balsa Regional. The regional balsa burn also marked the closing of the magical Tiny Shanty and which was one of the star attractions at the Art Shanty Project, an art festival on the beautiful frozen Medicine Lake.

Cali “Starfive” Mastny was the organizer and creative mastermind behind the entire Tiny Fire Arts Festival including the amazing Paul Balsa Bunyan! I was especially tickled to see that her majestic Tiny Star Tree which had been at both the Black Rock Balsa Regional and the Balsa Man main event was also in appearance in the Tiny Shanty! For her amazing dedication and hard work, I personally presented her a tiny check from the Black Pebble Arts Foundation for $20!

The Minneapolis Burn Report!

by Colin Fahrion
Near dusk, the excited participants converged for the Tiny Fire Arts Festival as snow gently drifted down. The amazingly detailed Paul Balsa Bunyan Man was raised upon a beautiful metal petal which rested—naturally—upon stack of logs. Near the foot of the Balsa Bunyan Man, small matchstick men gathered.

The murmurs in the crowd soon turned to an uproar as the tiny fire conclave sauntered forth swinging their puny fire poi and stubby fire staffs! It was an exciting performance—I must say both in numbers and skill the six member Minneapolis fire conclave bested the two member Balsa Man conclave.

After the tiny fire performance, Cali stepped forth and lit Paul Balsa Bunyan. Like the Balsa Man burn, it was a chaotic firey and explosive feast for the eyes which was both all too brief yet still rich and fulfilling. As the fireworks died down, the crowd ran forward lit their tiny sparklers and ran around the embers!

It wasn’t over though as other tiny art was on hand including:

• The magnificent Temple of Modest Ability, by possibly maybe famous David Just-Ok
• The Scornicorn, a mean balsa unicorn with a vicious red tipped horn, by Rubin Starset
• The lovely Tiny Dangles mobile by Rachel

It was a magical amazing tiny burn, everyone walked away with smiles on their faces. Personally, I was overjoyed by it all and came away brimming with fresh ideas about how to improve Balsa Man itself. I thank Cali Mansty, the Tiny Shanty crew, and all the wonderful Minneapolis Balsa Burners who I met and made me feel at home. I came home to San Francisco creatively inspired and many a friend richer.

More photos & video:

• Tiny Fire Arts Festival video (same video embeded above; Vimeo link)
• Rubin’s Tiny Fire Arts Festival flickr set
• Strangepuppy’s Tiny Fire Arts Festival flickr set
• Starfive’s Tiny Shanty 4th Weekend flickr set